Breaking News Today - Monday 19 October 2026

African Start-up News Headlines:

Uche Aniche, founder of Startupsouth, confirmed that OffChat Nxt will run in Port Harcourt from 27–29 October 2026. The platform builds on the annual southern Nigerian tech summit and includes a Startup Challenge with a ₦30 million founder prize pool. An analysis of 142 applications to the 2026 challenge showed 53.5% of applicants already report early paying customers, a growing customer base, recurring revenue or rapid scaling, while 66.2% have never raised external funding. The event will feature 100+ speakers across 60+ sessions.
Nigerian online therapy platform Mytherapist.ng is partnering with healthcare financing company MyItura so users can book sessions and pay in instalments via MyItura’s Mediloan product rather than upfront. This is part of a 2.0 relaunch that also adds in-person sessions at selected Café One co-working locations in Lagos (in private rooms) and a clinic in Abuja, with further locations planned.
Onafriq is closing Baxi, its Nigerian agent banking business, after a strategy review. The company said inflation, naira depreciation, rising operating costs, lower volumes, margin pressure, and the rapid growth of instant account-to-account transfers made the offline agent network unsustainable. Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO, described the decision as difficult and noted it affects colleagues, agents, and partners. Onafriq will continue in Nigeria as a Payment Solution Service Provider focused on its cross-border payments network and card issuing business.

Headline News Today

Nigerian Refinery IPO Draws Investors from 90 Countries

Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals said today, that its ongoing initial public offering (IPO) has received subscriptions from investors in more than 90 countries, including participants from 51 of Africa’s 54 nations. The company described the offer as the largest public offering launched in the Nigerian capital market on its opening day. Renaissance Capital Africa raised its valuation of the refinery to N700.41 per share (about 52–53 US cents), a 33.4% upside from the IPO price of N525. The update followed the refinery’s nine-month results showing revenue of about $22.5 billion and net profit of about $4.7 billion for the period ended 30 September 2026. The breadth of African subscriptions points to cross-border interest in one of the continent’s largest industrial assets.

Prieska Copper Mine Gets New Mining Project

Orion Minerals Limited has announced via the ASX and JSE news feed today, that its US$40 million Tranche-A financing from Glencore is now unconditional for development of the Uppers at the Prieska Copper Zinc Mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape. The Uppers (also called the Upper-Level Phase or Uppers Mine) is the first, smaller-scale stage of Orion Minerals’ plan to restart the historic Prieska Copper Zinc Mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape. The Uppers phase, a lower-risk, quicker-to-cash starter phase, is expected to run for about 4.3 years, processing roughly 240,000 tonnes of ore a year.

The company said final concentrate offtake and intercreditor agreements had been executed and all conditions precedent satisfied. First drawdown is expected by the end of October, enabling site mobilisation and construction. Orion is targeting first copper and zinc production from the Uppers by the end of 2027. Contractors include Torque Africa for drilling and ENPROTEC for a 20,000-tonnes-per-month concentrator. A separate US$210 million Tranche B for the Deeps remains conditional.

Your Business Week Ahead:

Week Ahead: Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) is due to release the September 2026 Consumer Price Index (CPI). August inflation was 4.4% year-on-year. Market forecasts are generally in the 4.3–4.7% rangeGeopolitical developments in Ukraine and the Middle East will continue to dictate markets as global oil supply tightens and inflation metrics trend higher. The major listed earnings season will also gather pace, with Meta and Tesla reporting the latest signals on the volatile AI trade, while results are also due from P&G, Netflix, GE Aerospace, SAP, and Texas Instruments. On the economic data front, S&P PMIs across the US, Eurozone, Japan, Australia, and India will offer initial insights for October

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:

Brent crude fell to below $108 per barrel today after hitting almost $110 on Friday and has retained most of last week’s price hike, as hostilities in the Middle East and Eastern Europe accelerated and kept supply risks elevated. Clashes between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels showed little sign of abating, with a Saudi helicopter crashing near the border with Yemen and the Houthis targeting Yanbu, a key oil export hub.

Platinum futures rose above $1,620 an ounce but remained near a three-month low, as safe-haven demand offered some support amid expectations of higher-for-longer interest rates. Slower EV adoption could support platinum demand by easing the shift away from combustion-engine vehicles, although resilient hybrid sales have helped cushion the decline
Kenya’s statistics office has reported second-quarter growth of 5.1% year-on-year. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said the economy expanded 5.1% in the three months to June compared with 4.9% a year earlier. The expansion was mainly supported by stronger performance across services and key infrastructure-related sectors

The euro lost as much as -0.5% to $1.118 this morning, before recovering some losses, as widespread protests across France and other European countries escalated into violent clashes between police and demonstrators over the weekend. Unrest spread across major cities in Belgium, Italy, and Portugal, weighing on sentiment toward the common currency.
Arabica coffee futures rose more than 3.6% today to nearly $3.10 per pound, their highest level since early September, amid concerns over near-term supply and uncertainty surrounding Brazil’s next harvest. Traders are increasingly worried that coffee shipments from top grower Brazil may not reach ICE warehouses before the December contract expires. Certified stocks remain critically low

Markets by Numbers

Currencies:

Currency markets indicate the US dollar fairly flat today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.12313 while trading against the Pound at 1.33302. The Yen is currently trading at 158.12 to the US dollar. The rand (ZAR), is currently trading at the 16.45 against the US dollar this morning.

Commodities:

Gold futures are up around 0.34% this morning, and currently trading at around $4180.40 per ounce.
Copper prices are up around 0.54% today, with prices currently around $6.5658 per pound
Silver futures are up around 1.1% today, and currently trading at around $57.635 per ounce.
Platinum futures are up around 1.7% this morning, and currently trading at $1661.30, While Palladium is up by around 1.1% today, and currently trading around $1131.00 per ounce.
Lithium has gained around 0.7% today, and currently at CNY/T 102 950 and is down over -16% this week
Brent crude oil prices are down over -1.6%, and are currently trading around $108.03, with WTI trading at $100.14 currently
Cocoa futures are down around -3.6% today, and currently trading at $5645 per ton.
Coffee futures have spiked around 3.6% today, and currently trading at around $3.0560 per pound

Crypto Currencies:

Bitcoin prices are up around 0.62% today, and trading at around $82 528 per coin currently
Ether prices are up around 0.55% this morning, and currently trading around $2422.43

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H20 Central African Time)

African General News Briefs:

Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso said in Bangkok yesterday, that domestic investors supplied slightly more than 20% of the N4.65 trillion raised so far by Nigerian banks under the recapitalisation exercise. He added that external reserves stood above $55 billion, the highest level in 18 years, and that formal remittances were approaching $1 billion a month. Headline inflation stood at 14.63 percent in September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Cardoso spoke during the IMF and World Bank meetings. Nigeria’s Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Tope Fasua, said that the country had secured more than $6 billion in private capital commitments during its engagements at the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok.
The Economic Community of West African States and the Alliance of Sahel States held their first formal ministerial-level talks in Dakar, Senegal, over the weekend, and agreed to establish joint thematic working groups. Senegal’s Minister of African Integration, Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad, Cheikh Niang, who chairs the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, led the ECOWAS side. Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, who chairs the AES ministerial steering committee, led the delegation for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The groups will prepare a framework cooperation agreement covering trade, free movement of people and goods, and other shared interests after the three Sahel countries formally left ECOWAS in January 2025.